Campus Safety Alerts/Timely Warnings

In an effort to provide timely notice to the Gettysburg College community, and in the event of a serious incident which may pose an on-going threat to members of the campus community, A Campus Safety Alert (timely warning) is sent by blast email to all students and employees on campus. The alerts are generally written and distributed to the campus community by the Executive Director of Public Safety or a designee and they are reviewed and approved by the Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students or a designee.

The Executive Director of Public Safety or his/her designee will develop Campus Safety Alerts or Timely Warnings for the college community to notify members of the community about specific Clery Act crimes (as described below) that have been reported to DPS and that have occurred on campus or on non-campus property or public property, where it is determined that the incident may pose a serious or ongoing threat to members of the College community. Updates to the campus community about any particular case resulting in a Campus Safety Alert may be distributed via blast email, may be posted on the college website, may be shared with the Gettysburgian newspaper for a follow-up story, and may be distributed by the Executive Director of Public Safety or other member of the campus emergency response team (CERT); as deemed necessary. Campus Safety Alert posters may also be posted by DPS in campus buildings when deemed necessary. When Campus Safety Alerts are posted in campus buildings, they are printed on red paper and posted in lobby/entrance areas of affected buildings for a time period determined by the Executive Director of Public Safety or designee.

Campus Safety Alerts are usually distributed for the following Uniform Crime reporting (UCR)/National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) classifications: arson, criminal homicide, and robbery. Incidents of aggravated assault and sex offenses are considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the facts of the case and whether there is a continuing danger to the campus community. For example, if an aggravated assault occurs between two students who have a disagreement, there may be no on-going threat to other Gettysburg College community members and a Campus Safety Alert would not be distributed. The Executive Director of Public Safety or designee reviews all criminal and/or serious incidents to determine if there is an on-going threat to the community and if the distribution of a Campus Safety Alert is warranted. Campus Safety Alerts may be issued for other crime classifications, as deemed necessary.

Campus officials not subject to the timely reporting requirement are those with significant counseling responsibilities who were providing confidential assistance to a crime victim, such as pastoral counselors and professional counselors.

DAILY CRIME AND INCIDENT LOG

The Daily Crime and Incident log, located at public safety headquarters, documents all crimes and fires that have occurred each day that are within the college’s geographical reporting and patrolling areas. This log is open to the public for inspection. You can see the log and get copies by visiting DPS and making the request to an on-duty public safety officer.